The present invention relates to internal combustion engines and more particularly to a valveless engine that is efficient to operate and adaptable to be used with all types of vehicles.
A conventional internal combustion engine in most instances does not operate efficiently, as a large portion of fuel is not burnt during combustion. This is particularly true with two cycle engines, which tend to get hot and operate inefficiently due to the exhaust gases not being able to be sufficiently evacuated from the chamber of the cylinders. Furthermore, the inputting of gas into the conventional engines is inefficient inasmuch as the conventional gas cylinders tend to have a gas intake valve at approximately the same line of reference as the exhaust valve. Consequently, after combustion, the exhaust gases at the top of the cylinder are not fully evacuated, thus leading to inefficiency.
Attempts have been made by engine manufacturers in their quest to come up with a more efficient engine. One such engine is the Wankel engine in which a triangular shaped rotor rotates within the engine chamber. But because of its shape, and the way in which the rotor rotates within the chamber, such Wankel engine tends to get very hot and the engine has a tendency to warp.
A need therefore exists for an internal combustion engine that can evacuate efficiently the exhaust gases resulting from combustion therein.
Further, in a conventional two stroke engine, one work cycle is produced when the crankshaft is rotated 360xc2x0. This is inefficient for those vehicles that are best adapted to use such two stroke engines.
A further need therefore arises for an engine that has a higher efficiency in terms of the RPM that it can generate, as compared to prior art engines. Putting it differently, there is a need for an engine that can operate at a higher efficiency and increased power due to an increased number of work cycles without increasing the RPM of the engine
In a conventional internal combustion engine, the cylinders are fixed and only the crankshaft moves. The present invention differs from the conventional internal combustion engines in that its cylinders are movable relative to the crankshaft. Moreover, the instant invention engine requires no valves, as compared to a conventional internal combustion engine which requires both a cam shaft and various valves for controlling the input of fuel and the output of exhaust gases. For the instant invention, exhaust gases are evacuated from the cylinder only when the exhaust opening of the cylinder is positioned in alignment with the exhaust port of the housing. Thus, no valves are required to open or close the exhaust opening of the cylinder or the exhaust port of the housing.
In particular, the instant invention engine has a housing which may have an inner circumferential surface. Within the housing is a crank case having coupled thereto at least one cylinder. A piston is movably fitted in the cylinder, with a piston rod extending therefrom. The piston rod in turn is coupled to a crankshaft, so as to be rotatable with the reciprocal movement of the piston within the cylinder.
In one aspect of the instant invention, the head of the cylinder is configured so as to be rotatable along the inner circumferential surface of the housing so that as it rotates relative to the crankshaft, it moves along the path defined by the inner circumferential surface of the housing. An exhaust opening is provided at an upper portion of the cylinder while an exhaust port is provided at a given location of the housing so that when the cylinder is rotated to that particular location, its exhaust opening mates with the exhaust port of the housing, to thereby evacuate the exhaust gases resulting from the combustion of fuel/air mixture within the cylinder. To control the amount of exhaust gases being evacuated, and therefore controlling the power output from the engine, a closure mechanism is used to control the size of the exhaust port of the housing. To prevent backdraft, another closure mechanism is provided to the cylinder for closing its exhaust opening when it no longer mates with the exhaust port of the housing.
In a second aspect of the instant invention engine, instead of rotating along a predefined path as defined by the inner circumferential surface of the housing, the crankshaft of the instant invention engine is fixedly mounted to the housing. Accordingly, the cylinder rotates about the crankshaft as a result of the reciprocating movement of the piston. Thus, the rotation of the cylinder is defined, even without being guided by the inner circumferential surface of the housing.
To enhance the evacuation of the exhaust gases from the cylinder, unlike conventional internal combustion engines, the instant invention engine, at least with respect to its two cycle version, has its gas inlet port located at the lower portion of the cylinder while its exhaust port located at its upper portion. As a result, as evacuation of exhaust gases goes on, the fuel/air mixture being fed into the cylinder helps to push the exhaust gases out of the cylinder. With less exhaust gases in the chamber of the cylinder and the chamber being filled with more fuel, a more powerful combustion process takes place.
Inasmuch as the cylinder and the crankshaft of the instant invention engine are both rotatable, by rotating the crankshaft in an opposite direction to the rotation of the cylinder, the instant invention engine is able to increase the number of work cycles for a given number of revolutions, thereby increasing its power output. To further increase the power output, additional cylinders may be provided within the same housing. Alternatively, a number of housings each of which contains at least one cylinder may be workingly cascaded together to the same crankshaft.
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide an engine that does not require any valves for controlling the evacuation of exhaust gases.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide an internal combustion engine that does not require any valves for the input of fuel thereinto.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide an engine that has a higher performance efficiency than a similarly sized conventional engine.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide an engine with increased work cycles but rotates at the same number of revolutions per period of time as a similarly sized conventional internal combustion engine.